3 prospects Toronto Raptors should watch in NCAA Championship

The Toronto Raptors are hard at work trying to find their next standout in the 2022 NBA Draft. Along with every scouting department worth their salt, Toronto will pay very close attention to the 2022 NCAA Championship Game between Bill Self’s consistent Kansas Jayhawks and Hubert Davis’ upstart North Carolina Tar Heels.

Both of these teams have strong interior presences, but their recent 3-point success helped them take down some elite competition. Though these two teams had very divergent paths to the championship, both of these squads have some future NBA players that helped steady the ship.

While Ochai Agbaji will draw a ton of attention as the most hyped prospect in the game, the Raptors should keep their eyes on a handful of prospects that could fall to them in the second round. This wouldn’t be the first time that Toronto turned a second-round pick into a long-term contributor.

Masai Ujiri will likely have his eyes on one of these three players during the NCAA championship game. A strong performance from these youngsters could make it even more enticing for Ujiri to potentially spend a draft pick on them and anoint the chosen Jayhawk to Tar Heel as a bench scorer.

3 prospects the Toronto Raptors must watch during NCAA Championship.

3. Jalen Wilson, PF, Kansas

If there’s a hypothetical award for most Raptors-like prospect that could be given out in the 2022 Draft, Wilson would be a very strong contender. A strong defender who clocks in at 6-8 and 225 pounds with some questions about his perimeter game? That sure sounds like an Ujiri draft pick to us.

Wilson averaged 11.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season. His performance on defense in the tournament has been exceptional, as he’s recorded at least 11 rebounds in each of his last four games. With solid leaping ability and some nice interior moves, Wilson would certainly fit the physical profile Ujiri and Nick Nurse love to develop.

Toronto Raptors: Jalen Wilson could be a switchable backup forward.

The concerns about Wilson’s offense are valid. While he takes 3.4 3-point attempts per game for his career, he’s only making an even 30% of them. In the tournament, the only game in which he’s shot greater than 36% from the floor was against No. 16 seed Texas Southern.

Wilson is rough around the edges at this point, which will require some major development time. With both the depth and infrastructure to support such a request, Toronto could find themselves in a position to stash Wilson in the G League and reap the benefits later.